Romans 1:21 (DRB)

Passage

Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God or given thanks: but became vain in their thoughts. And their foolish heart was darkened.

Nearby Context

Romans 1:19 Because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God hath manifested it unto them.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. His eternal power also and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.

Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God or given thanks: but became vain in their thoughts. And their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:22 For, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

Romans 1:23 And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts and of creeping things.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "glorified", "knew", "given", "thanks", "became", "vain", "thoughts", and "foolish". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "glorified" and "knew", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "For the invisible things of him from..." into verse 22's "For professing themselves to be wise they...", so "glorified" and "knew" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "glorified" and "knew" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.